Robenanne

ELECTRIC BIKES NZ

Electric Bikes NZ ltd was established in 2006 and now has its head office in Auckland. We have steadily grown to now carry the largest Dealer Network of any eBike brand in NZ with stores in most towns and cities throughout NZ.

Electric Bikes are exciting and something we really believe in and want to promote throughout New Zealand. They just make so much sense in an energy-constricted world and they add a fun and exhilarating experience to our lives.

Common Questions

Beyond standard bike maintenance, there is very little extra required. Just ensure moving parts are lubricated and that electrics do not get submerged.

All our electric bikes have LCD consoles with self diagnostics, so, should something go wrong, e.g., a throttle is damaged when the bike falls over… you will get a specific error code on the LCD console which will tell you what component has failed. All our components have marine rated plugs close to the component, so it is very simple to swap in new ones.

Cheap ebikes have no such plugs so a simple task becomes a day-long nightmare… unthread internal frame cables… then somehow rethread the new cable (often impossible without cutting other wires, etc)… trust me… I learned this the hard way!!

Again, depends on what eBike or battery you purchase. For example, Our SmartMotion electric bikes will get up to 60km of pedal assisted biking (@22-25kph) per charge from the 36v10ah battery! This is more than other ebike brands with 12ah batteries, due to our higher quality geared motors. Of course, if you go faster, or the terrain is hilly, your range will lessen. Our Pedego Commuters have been known to do over 100km in level 2 assistance from the 36v15.4ah battery!

Pedal assist is the system used on Pedego and SmartMotion bikes. A sensor mounted on the pedal crank senses when you are or are not pedalling, and how fast you are pedalling and supplies motor power to suit… is is a little like cruise control on a car.

Torque sensor assist is common in China and japan and a spring system is installed inside the pedal crank that measures how hard you are pushing on your pedal and offers motor power to suit. It sounds great and I imported several samples to test… Have you ever had a bike with a loose crank? This is what it feels like… every time you push on the pedal it gives about 10mm!! Bloody awful…

All our electric bikes have fully rigid axles and cranks… they ride and feel like bikes.

Our Pedego and Smartmotion electric Bikes do not have regenerative charging. I researched this in depth and came to the conclusion it was better to go for a high capacity lithium battery and a motor with an internal freewheel… This means you have plenty of capacity (up to 80km range) and a motor that does not drag when not in use… so your electric bike still rides like a normal bike down hills or freewheeling, or motor off.

The amount of resistance you need to create any useful amount of charging is quite high… instead of whizzing down a hill like on a normal bike, you crawl down at 10kph… and might only get an extra 500m of range!

If you think, on a normal bike ride, how often do you have the brakes on for more that a touch? How often would you have your brakes firmly on for 5 minutes solid? Never! Regen charging works well on heavy vehicles that stop and start a lot… like buses, rubbish trucks… but it is a gimmick on bikes.

Research proved regen braking, on average, only added 4% to range, and possibly shortened lifespan of battery due to overcharging issues if a full battery received a downhill run.